Gen Art's Shop Miami 2009

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA
Gen Art’s annual Shop Miami event brings fashion-focused residents to the Moore Building every summer for discounted goods created by local emerging designers. While about 1,000 people turned out last night as expected, the event’s regular format changed from last year with the omission of its fashion show.

“We scaled back [this year] and really wanted to focus on the designers since it is a tough economic environment,” said Gen Art’s Miami regional director of events, Andrea Aberegg. “This way the attention is all on [the designers].”

The doors opened an hour early for a special reception and preview for 450 V.I.P. ticket holders who paid $40 for early entry, compared to the regular $20 for general admission. The 48 designers participating this year, eight more than in 2008, displayed their wares—all marked 20 to 30 percent off the original price—throughout the three-story building.

Event sponsors SmartWater and Café Bustelo served water and coffee drinks, respectively, from their stations on the first floor. Title sponsor Degree Fine Fragrances took over the middle of the first-floor atrium with three displays for the company’s newest antiperspirant and body spray scents— Delicious Bliss, Sexy Intrigue, and Classic Romance. Brand representatives gave away free sample sizes of each scent.

Vodka company 42 Below created a private lounge on the second floor for V.I.P. ticket holders and Ménage a Trois winery served its white, red, and rosé wines from a sponsored bar nearby. On the third floor, Lace Nail and Beauty Lab once again sponsored a hand massage and manicure station, which had a waiting list.

Set nightclub on South Beach hosted the official after-party with complimentary drinks for Shop Miami ticket holders from 11 p.m. to midnight.